Keep it simple

July 16, 2017

I will try almost anything in the name of beauty. I especially love simple, old fashioned beauty secrets that work. About a year and a half ago, I stumbled on to two beauty rituals (not at all new, but new to me) that not only work well for me, but are also really inexpensive. The first one is microneedling, or “dermarolling.” The idea is that you create microscopic punctures in your skin as you roll the dermaroller all over your face, including lips and around the eyes if you like (I do). The benefit of these punctures is twofold. Firstly, as the punctures heal, your skin creates new collagen, making your skin firmer and more lifted. Secondly, the holes allow for better penetration of whatever products you use with the roller. The shared belief here is that which ever products you roll into your skin should be as healthy and toxin-free as you can manage. So for example, apply your favorite serum, essence or oil, then roll your face to push it in deeper. All I can say is, I LOVE how well dermarolling works for me. Of course there’ve been periods when I’ve slacked off, but when I’m consistent, it only takes about ten days to notice a difference. When I’m on one of my rolls, I do it about three nights a week. Here’s the important thing to keep in mind. The needles are like tiny razors, in that they work best when they are sharp. The best dermarollers come in a hard plastic case that hold it still, and don’t allow it to touch the sides. Keep this case for storage. Other pointers are:

After each use, spray/douse it with alcohol and let it completely air dry. That’s how you know the alcohol has really killed all the germs and bacteria.

After spraying with alcohol, arrange the roller in the storage case in such a way that it doesn’t touch the sides, or the counter or anything. Keeping the needles from touching things helps keep them straight and sharp longer.

That said, resist the urge to place the roller in a cup full of alcohol, as this will damage the needles.

Roll your face at night because it will most likely be a bit red. This will be gone in the morning. If in the morning your face feels a bit dry (mine does), don’t worry. After you put on your morning products, it’ll be just fine.

The roller will need to be replaced, but how often will depend on your usage. If you’re using it once a week, it’ll last three or four months. If you’re using it every night for the first month, you’ll probably need to replace it in thirty to sixty days. You’ll have to sort of rely on your gut here. If your rolling becomes too painful, or you just don’t feel like it’s working as well, replace it. One last thing. During your research, you will probably find people who say it’s o.k. to make yourself bleed while rolling. I disagree with this. I don’t believe dermarolling should hurt that much. Also, making yourself bleed is different than getting a “vampire” facial from a doctor.

If you search “dermaroller” or “dermaroller demo” on youtube, you’ll find lots of videos. But this video from a woman namedDawn Amador started my journey down this path.

There’s a company in Australia called White Lotus Holistic Microneedling. They sell metal-free dermarollers in case you have a metal allergy. I’ve never tried one, but maybe you’d like to. They ship to the U.S.

The second old school beauty treatment I swear by is dry skin brushing. It is the ONLY thing that has ever gotten rid of cellulite for me. It’s actually amazing if you think about it. You take a simple $12.00 brush, like this one on amazon for example. You brush all over your whole body which moves and drains the lymph. And in your body’s infinite wisdom, it decides to drain excess fat at the same time. As with many things, my interest in dry brushing started on youtube. If you search on youtube, you’ll find lots of videos on the subject, but this one fromGreen Smoothie Girl helped me out. The woman doing the demo is wearing a bathing suit for obvious reasons. But I do it naked in the bathtub before showering. It took two weeks of daily brushing for me to notice a difference.

So that’s it, my two favorite inexpensive home beauty secrets. I hope this gives you some inspiration. At the very least, you’ll have fun watching youtube videos of people giving themselves all kinds of beauty treatments.